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Car Pools
''Imagine huge bodies of water, giant ponds and lakes and just below the surface are trillions of organisms working 24/7, eating plant life and producing gasoline.'' - George Church, envisioning future synthetic biofuel production
Synthetic biology assumes a future for modified organisms beyond the lab. Biofuel research is currently focusing on both natural and genetically engineered algae to generate gasoline, with the goal of one day being available for public use. This objective has created a network of open-ponds for algae production. Dispersed across the southwest of the United States, companies are utilizing the environment’s abundance of sunshine - ideal algae growing conditions. As synthetic biology moves out of the lab, to the wild, to factories, to garage labs, to people’s homes what are the potential ecological effects associated with the release of a modified organism?
Car Pools is a series of simulations that examine the potential ecological effects associated with the public release of genetically altered algae for biofuel production. The project draws on current open-pond algae production methods to imagine a future infrastructure of fuel producing pools for the city of Los Angeles, a metropolis built for cars, home to more than 43,000 swimming pools.
The pool is typically viewed as a symbol of suburban leisure, Car Pools recasts it into a site of homegrown fuel production. The oil wells of tomorrow may be in sunny California. The project plays out different scales of interaction, the home, the neighborhood, and the city, to explore potential ecological effects, such as pool wildlife & production management, neighborhood contamination, expanded pool networks, and modified commuting patterns. What if simulations of different scales, from micro to macro were used within synthetic biology? How could simulations be used to expose both the issues and opportunities beyond the lab?
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There are a few wiki requirements teams must follow:
- All pages, images and files must be hosted on the 2014.igem.org server.
- All pages must be created under the team’s name space.
- As part of your documentation, keep the links from the menu to the left.
- Do not use flash in wiki code.
- The iGEM logo should be placed on the upper part of every page and should link to 2014.igem.org.
Visit the Wiki How To page for a complete list of requirements, tips and other useful information.
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We are currently working on providing teams with some easy to use design templates.
In the meantime you can also view other team wikis for inspiration! Here are some very good examples
For a full wiki list, you can visit iGEM 2013 web sites and iGEM 2012 web sites lists.
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This wiki will be your team’s first interaction with the rest of the world, so here are a few tips to help you get started:
- State your accomplishments! Tell people what you have achieved from the start.
- Be clear about what you are doing and what you plan to do.
- You have a global audience! Consider the different backgrounds that your users come from.
- Make sure information is easy to find; nothing should be more than 3 clicks away.
- Avoid using very small fonts and low contrast colors; information should be easy to read.
- Start documenting your project as early as possible; don’t leave anything to the last minute before the Wiki Freeze. For a complete list of deadlines visit the iGEM 2013 calendar
- Have lots of fun!
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